Phoenicians

The Phoenicians were the direct descendents of the Canaanites of
the south Syrian and Lebanese coast who, at the end of the second
millennium BC, became isolated by population and political changes
in the regions surrounding them. The name derives from the Greek,
Phoinikes, referring to the purple coloured dye which the
Phoenicians extracted from the murex shell, and with which they
produced highly prized textiles.

The major Phoenician cities were Tyre, Sidon, Byblos and Arwad.
These cities represented a confederation of fiercely independent
maritime traders. By the late eighth century BC, the Phoenicians
had founded trading posts and colonies around the entire
Mediterranean, the greatest of which was Carthage on the north
coast of Africa (present day Tunisia). Explorers and traders from
Carthage even ventured beyond the Straits of Gibraltar as far as
Britain in search of tin.

Phoenician craftsmen and artists perpetuated the purest ideals
of their Canaanite ancestors into the first millennium and
transmitted them throughout the Mediterranean world. They were
extremely skilled in metalworking, ivory carving, jewellery
manufacture and glass-making. One of the most significant
contributions of the Phoenicians was in developing the alphabet
invented by the Canaanites and passing it to the Greeks: it is
the same alphabet we use today.